During prayer time, this morning, a beautiful song kept invading my thoughts. Perhaps my words were not what He wanted to hear; although first thing in the morning, they are more pleasant than my singing. However, the tune stayed with me and I had to find the words. I needed to know if there was a message for me or one that I could share.

My conclusion is – – I do not know. The only thing left for me to do, is to print the words here. Perhaps, somebody else needs to know about the power and grace of Jesus Christ.

YOUR NAME

As morning dawns and evening fades,
You inspire songs of praise,
That rise from earth to touch Your heart
And glorify Your Name.

Your name is a strong and mighty tower,
Your name is a shelter like no other.
Your name let the nations sing it louder,
Cause nothing has the power to save,
But Your name.

Jesus in Your name we pray
Come and fill our hearts today.
Lord give us strength to live for You,
And glorify Your name.

What beautiful words. I hope your spirit has been calmed by them, and I hope you trust your life to Jesus and His redeeming grace.

So, whatever else we do today, let us Live for Truth. Live in truth. Stand for truth. Speak the truth.

Prayer: In all our ways, our words and our actions, let us honor You and Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The power of prayer can work miracles in our lives. Big miracles or small miracles, any or all can come our way if we pray for God’s will into our lives.

I have personally experienced some wonderful blessings myself, by trusting in God’s perfect will for my life.

Not sure what to pray or how to pray? Here are two powerful prayers that can build faith as well as provide much comfort.

For New Direction ……

The Prayer of Jabez

“Oh, that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” 1 Chronicles 4:9-10

The Lord’s Prayer (for all our needs)

Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen! Matthew 6:9b-13

Depression is a dreadful condition. It robs you of joy and productivity, as you live each day under a dark cloud. It is easy to give advice such as, ‘get over it’, ‘move on’ or even ‘cheer up’, but depression causes the very opposite as your hope flys out the window, and you struggle with the emotional darkness that saps your energy and enthusiasm for life.

I find music helps. Good music or songs with words that are uplifting. I LOVE to listen to Susan Boyle’s ‘Make me a Channel of Your Peace’ and ‘Perfect Day’. (My friends know this only too well, because they are often my choice to begin our bible studies). The first takes me to a quiet place to reflect and the second causes me to rejoice in another new day. But of course, it is essentially up to me to make the most of it – the day that is.

Psalm 121 offers words to encourage and help you reflect – I will lift my eyes to the hills – from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore. (NKJV)

So, if your day is presently foreboding and difficult to endure, may I suggest you look at the many comforting words that can be found in the Bible. The Psalms are a particular favorite of mine as they address our dispair, our questions and then our thanks, and we gradually see that there is great comfort to be found within the words and pages.

Prayer: We yearn for peace within our troubled spirits, in our broken hearts and circumstances – aand will not give in to the dark thoughts. Instead we will concentrate on Your Word and take comfort in knowing that as we read Your Word, we are being lifted from our dark place into a better place of positive thinking and thankfulness. Amen.

I read recently, in The Daily Bread (www.rbc.org), that over 15 million people die each year from starvation. A mind boggling figure that tends to be just a number. Each number is a person! A child, a woman, a man! Attempting to do the best they can. But it is never enough.

They do not have adequate income to buy food! They cannot grow enough to support their needs! Never enough resources available for them to access.

We are called to HELP those in distress! No, we cannot help them all, but one by one with the little help we can give, can keep one more person alive or at the very least, keep them healthy and well!

We can each donate to a local food bank. Support missions and charities that drill wells for fresh drinking water! Help with breakfast or lunch programs! Just a little can do so much!

Galatians 2:10 They asked us to do only one thing – to remember to help the poor. And this was something that I really wanted to do. (ICB)

Anyway! the word can sound like a negative response, or justification for a wrong action or spoken word.

I (try my best to) live by the biblical laws of the Lord’s Ten Commandments, and some time ago, I’d had some unexpected challenges and I had been questioning myself. How could I react in a positive manner?The truth was, I was angry and in need of much grace within myself; nevertheless, I wanted to overcome that negativity. Checking my emails, I found a friend had sent me a link to Dr. Kent Keith’s, ‘Paradoxical Commandments’ and his presentation helped me to put things into perspective -perhaps, they’ll help you today in someway too – so with permission granted me by Dr. Kent Keith, here they are for you – remember to always try to Do Your Best, in all you do.

THE PARADOXICAL COMMANDMENTS

By Kent M. Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered. Love them anyway.

2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.

3. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.

4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.

6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.

7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.

9. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.

10. Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.

The Paradoxical Commandments were written by Kent M. Keith as part of his book, The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in the Student Council, published in 1968 by Harvard Student Agencies, Cambridge, Massachusetts. More information is available at http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com/.

Have you noticed how easy it is to give advice to others, while overlooking what you might need guidance on?

Recommending a change of direction or lifestyle in someone else’s world is easy but it is not so easy to do for ourselves.

The world has many well-intentioned folk. Some are not Godly and certainly not kind. They make unrealistic, even cruel demands on others, ensuring their own needs are met, while completely ignoring the difficulties and restrictions they impose upon others.

A saving grace in complex or dangerous situations, if you believe in the one true God, is to remember that you do have a ‘safe place to go’.

God lives in the hearts of all believers and no-one can take Him away from us. Life can be full of regulations and controls that burden and even cause us to consider ‘giving-up’, those times are when God’s people seek the quiet of a God-filled heart. They in turn receive a strength that is beyond the understanding of non-believers, many of whom will ridicule our dependence upon a God that cannot be seen.

Prayer: Father God, let us always remember who is truly in charge. We can be overwhelmed by the control that others have on our lives. Help us to focus on You and trust in Your provision for our well-being and our inner peace. Lord help us to continue to grow in our faith. Amen

My coffee maker is winking at me! Honestly: on and off, on and off goes the little red light. It’s actually telling me that the machine needs cleaning, but what it isn’t recognizing is that I have cleaned it — I removed every removable part that I can find; I removed the filter mechanism and replaced the filter, and then cleaned it some more just to be sure. But the blinking red light still winks at me! What is its problem? What have I missed? Every nook and cranny has been dealt with that I can see, but it chooses not to take any notice — and so-o-o, day in, day out, whenever I make coffee, the machine winks at me. I even tried to hide the light with a black marker — a big, black, permanent marker that I thought I could use to daub onto the little red light and mask it — well, that didn’t work! No way was it going to be hidden. I think I’d miss it now — I’ve become quite used to its presence.

Psalm 51:1-2 – Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. (NKJV)

When God sees the need for us to be cleaned, His light, the Holy Spirit, convicts us that unnecessary sediment is present in our spirits and hearts, the remainder of all the wrongs we have committed. He pursues us continually in many ways. He puts His people in our path to get our attention, to speak to us, and help us to recognize where improvement is needed. He reminds us continually through His Word — if in fact we are actually checking the interior of the Book. He will keep reappearing in many forms, reminding us that it is time for change.

Yet, how many times we try to mask Him so that we can go on doing what we are doing — things that we know He would not approve of. It’s as if we are picking up a big, black marker and trying to obliterate Him from the eyes of our hearts and spirits. We do that in vain because His light will not be blocked, however hard we try to make it happen. He will continue to pursue each one of us and make us aware of His disciplines and His way. His light will be ever present until we take notice and attend to what needs correction.

John 12:46-48 – I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him — the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. (NKJV)

Those who have received Christ need periodic cleanings, but others need to confess their sins and receive Christ’s forgiveness for the very first time. Only when we choose to conform and repent and call upon God in the name of Jesus to help us and accept us and change us from the inside out can we begin to understand what a difference His cleansing in our lives will make. It is a feeling beyond any other and cannot be adequately described by mere words — we’ve got to try it ourselves. Many years ago, He called me to change and to follow Him. Thankfully, He took over, and I had no control over the powerful spirit of love that wrapped itself around me. He walked me to the prayer rail of my (then) church, where I gave my life to Him. I have rejoiced in that action ever since. You can do it too!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I want to know You personally. I know that I have done wrong things in the past and I am sorry. I am willing, with Your help, to turn away from my sins and turn to You. I believe, Jesus, that You died for me and rose again for me. Please come into my life and change me and show me Your ways, right now. Amen.

Please see the operating manual, the B.I.B.L.E. (BEST Instructions
Before Leaving Earth) for further details on the
use of these fixes.

WARNING: Continuing to operate the human being unit
without correction voids any manufacturer warranties,
exposing the unit to dangers and problems too numerous
to list, and will result in the human unit being permanently
impounded. For free emergency service, call on Jesus.

DANGER: The human being units not responding to this
recall action will have to be scrapped in the furnace. The
SIN defect will not be permitted to enter Heaven so as to
prevent contamination of that facility. Thank you for your attention!

– GOD

P.S. Please assist where possible by notifying others of this
important recall notice, and you may contact the Father any
time by ‘Knee mail’!

It is New Year’s Eve and it snowed overnight. I look out at gray skies and a crispy, white blanket of snow covering the ground. There are many imperfections concealed beneath it’s shroud. You would never know there were areas of uneven ground there, because they are now hidden from view. Just a layer of snow; deep and crisp and even!

The happenings in our lives can sometimes be hidden like that too. We often do not know what to expect as each new day dawns. Each event of the day is ‘under wraps’, until it is time for it to be revealed to us. We hope against hope, that all will be white and beautiful, and not dark and menacing. We hope for a comfortable white blanket to snuggle into.

The Bible promises that kind of comfort from God! Each new day presents us with an opportunity to discover and experience more of God’s love. Even in the midst of terrible sorrow, great is His faithfulness. He is the comforter and compassionate God who remains “full of grace and truth”. His love endures forever and is available to us, like a blanket to wrap around ourselves each and every morning.

Lamentations 3:22-25 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion” says my soul, “there I hope in Him”. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.

Prayer: Lord reveal Your loving kindness and comfort to us. Where there is despair bring hope! Where there is sadness, bring joy! Where there is struggle, bring relief. We trust in Your provision and in Your Grace. Please do not stay hidden. In Jesus Name, Amen.